Planned in the middle of the rainy season, the flagship competition of the continent could be offset in winter when the weather is more lenient.
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This is a story of water. Too much water, which could well “spoil” the party. The next edition of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) is supposed to be held in Côte d’Ivoire in just under a year, from June 23 to July 23, 2023. In other words, in the middle of the rains extends from April to early July, according to the Ivorian weather agency Sodexam.
During this period, he can fall into the south -east of the country – where Abidjan is located and two of the six stadiums selected for the competition – up to 640 mm of precipitation, the equivalent of a year of rain on Paris. “It’s normal climatological over the past thirty years,” said Daouda Konaté, director of meteorology at Sodexam. For 2022, normal has been widely exceeded.
“According to our data, it has already rained 903 mm from April to June on Abidjan, even though the rainy season is not yet over,” said Anthony Mocaër, head of HD Rain Côte d’Ivoire, A French start-up, specialist in weather forecasts that collaborates with Sodexam.
Water torrents have thus fell on the Ivorian economic capital in recent days: Tuesday, June 21, several people died in floods after several hours of floods. That night, the city recorded almost 200 mm of precipitation.
no place to argue
Faced with the risk of playing matches on lawns transformed into pond, the African Football Confederation (CAF) studies the possibility of shifting its competition during the dry season, in December 2023 or in January 2024. “We Consider, this is one of the possibilities, recognizes Veron Mosengo-Momba, its secretary general, in an interview with the African world. We have asked Ivorian meteorologists to make a report on the history of precipitation in Côte d’Ivoire in June and July, but also to let us know their projections. “
In Abidjan, this news does not surprise the president of the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF), Yacine Idriss Diallo, and even less Essan Emile Ngoran, Deputy Executive Director of the Organization Committee of the African Cup of Nations (Cocan). For them, there is no reason to argue. “CAF has not asked us, but whatever its decision, we will apply it, it is its competition. We are not opposed [to a change of dates]”, indicates Mr. Diallo.
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